Derek Grewell believes there are more good people than bad in the Tuscarawas Valley.

When the bad was just that earlier this year, the good came to the rescue.

The Dundee man’s late model race car was on display at the annual Midvale Speedway show at New Towne Mall in New Philadelphia before the season started in April.

And it was voted as the best appealing in the late model division.

Two days later, someone broke into his garage in Dundee and destroyed it.

The area racing community, in particular Midvale Speedway owners Randy and Sue Smith, came to the rescue.

The Smiths paid for a new body for the car and put up a $1,000 reward and took in donations from the fans at Midvale during a few races.

“With the community’s help, I was able to get back on the track this past weekend for my first race this year,” said Grewell said of his three-weekend run at the end of the season. “I can not thank everyone personally that has helped me this year.”

It took nearly $2,500 to repair the damage to the car, which was raised by the Smiths and the racing public.

“The Smiths were so generous and a couple of drivers passed the helmet to raise donations,” said Grewell. “It was a wonderful gesture.”

Randy Smith said he was just doing what came natural.

“He’s a good guy,” said Smith. “I kind of felt sorry for what he was going through. He didn’t deserve that. I’ve tried to help out a lot of people and a lot of people have helped me out. It’s all about helping each other out.”

Grewell finished 13th at Midvale Speedway’s final race of 2013 on Sept. 21.

Grewell notified the authorities of the incident in April, but no one has been arrested in connection with the incident, and he believes no one ever will.

His theory on why he was singled out is out of jealousy.

Grewell, who is sponsored by Front Street Automotive, Blazin Burgers and Down Hole Drilling, was named Rookie of the Year in 2010 in the late model division and took honors as the most popular driver in 2011 and 2012.

He recently landed a gig as a fabricator with ThorSport Racing based in Sandusky.

ThorSport Racing is the longest-tenured, active NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team.